


Superficial Space Cadet

by m0nica



Category: Clueless (1995)
Genre: Cute, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24813712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m0nica/pseuds/m0nica
Summary: The development of Josh and Cher's relationship in Clueless and beyond from Josh's perspective! Sticks to cannon, but adds unseen moments.
Relationships: Cher Horowitz/Josh Lucas
Comments: 5
Kudos: 172





	1. Chapter 1

Josh didn’t mind going to Mel’s house. Besides the fact that it was a gorgeous home with a stunning pool in a great neighborhood, it was also great to be around some semblance of a family. Although Mel was only briefly his stepfather, he was the only real father figure Josh ever had. He’d been through several stepfathers actually. He’d had four to be exact. None of them every tried to maintain a relationship after their split from his mother. Truthfully, most of them had never tried to form a relationship with him at all. It was something he’d wanted out of the first and second, but he’d given up by the time his mother married Mel when he was in high school. Mel had a tough exterior, but Josh learned pretty quickly that he was really a softie. He had immeasurable love for his spoiled, princess daughter, and his heart still ached for his deceased wife-- his true love. Mel took the time to get to know Josh. He was hard on him, but Josh didn’t mind that so much either. Mel cared, and that was something he wasn’t used to  
.  
That was why Josh didn’t mind, and often looked forward to going to their house. A part of him thought that might be why he decided to go to school in LA in the first place. Getting away from his mom in Seattle sounded really nice, and being close to his only real piece of family wasn’t a bad selling point either. 

After flying down to LA for his first week of classes, Mel had been generous enough to purchase him a car. Josh was extremely reluctant to accept, but Mel insisted he could work it off by helping out with a few cases sporadically. Josh knew that was really an offer to let him see the ins and outs of a major law firm, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Mel insisted Josh come to the house for dinner, after his first week of classes too. Josh arrived in the early afternoon when Mel was still in the office and Cher was at school. He went up stairs to see his briefly used childhood room had still been untouched. He hadn’t left much there, but he had assumed Mel would’ve at least switched the bedding and taken down the posters. It was actually kind of heartwarming to see, and Josh enjoyed indulging in the nostalgia. He’d only lived in the house for a few months five years ago, but he felt right at home. He set down his bag and put a tape into his old stereo before bolting down stairs to see what was in the fridge.

“What is it about college and cry babies?” a familiar voice whined. Ah, Cher. Josh and Cher had only been stepsiblings for a few months and she was only a 11, but she’d always been a spoiled little brat. She was the only con of going to Mel’s, however he have fun messing with her. They hadn’t seen too much of each other in the last few years. She definitely wasn’t 11 anymore, and he certainly wasn’t 13. Still, she seemed just as bratty.

“Hey, who’s watching the galleria?” he replied.

“So, the flannel shirt deal. Is that a nod to the crispy Seattle weather? Or are you just trying to stay warm by the refrigerator?”

Josh gave her a teasing pinch on the side, “Ooh wow! You’re really filling out there.” That was mostly a joke, but not entirely. She really was filling out, and quite nicely. He felt a little bit creepy for noticing.   
“Wow! Your face is catching up with your mouth!”

Josh rolled his eyes and took a big swig of orange juice, “I went by Dad’s office,”

“He is not your dad! Why don’t you torture a new family?” Cher cried.

“Hey! Just because my mother marries someone else doesn’t mean he’s my father!”

“Actually, Kato, that’s exactly what it means!” Josh rolled his eyes again and followed her out of the kitchen.

The two continued to poke fun at each other and fight over the remote, though he didn’t feel like they were just child siblings fighting anymore. Before he could really analyze what he was feeling, Mel called them in for dinner and continued his usual line of harsh but caring questioning. He was saved by the ring of his cell, which he had hoped might be Heather returning his call from earlier.

Heather was a sophomore at school, so she was a little bit older. She was an English major, and Josh had met her in one of his classes. She was smart, though kind of the know-it-all-type. She was also quite bossy, which admittedly Josh was rather into. She was easy on the eyes, too. They’d seemed to hit it off, so Josh very nervously had left her a message asking about her plans over the weekend. 

Cher and Mel both reached for their phones as well, but Mel’s was the culprit. He didn’t waste any time yelling into the other end.

Cher turned to him and hissed, “You’re such a brown noser.”

“You’re such a superficial space cadet. What makes you think you can get teachers to change your grades?” He whispered.

“Maybe the fact that I’ve done it every other semester.” She smiled, sucking a bit of gravy off her pointer finger.

By this point, Mel had left the table and was most likely not coming back any time soon. Josh stuck his head into his office to wave goodbye before heading to the front door to run back to Westwood. 

“See ya, Barbie!” he called over his shoulder.

“Bye, freeloader!”


	2. Chapter 2

Though things were certainly going well with Heather, Josh liked to take breaks from his coffee shop regular and tree hugging friends to enjoy the perks of the elite LA lifestyle. There was something he found commercial about reading Marx in a multimillion dollar mansion or Neitzsche by the pool, so he often did. 

One afternoon while reading by the pool, his view was blocked by a wave of blonde hair and the smell of its strawberry shampoo.

“Hey granola breath, you have something on your face.”

“I’m growing a goatee” he mused as Cher rubbed the uneven stubble on his chin. He tried to move his head, though it was clear his time reading his book in peace was over.

“Well that’s good! You don’t want to be the last one at the coffee house without chin pubes” she teased, still looming over his shoulder. He was acutely aware of the smell of her hair as it waft of its scent, as well as the Chanel No. 7 on her neck and the mint of her warm breath. Again, he felt a little sick for noticing.

“I can’t tell you how much I enjoy these little chats of ours, but in the interest of saving time, why don’t you just tell me what you want?” he snapped.

“Okay,” Cher sighed, moving from behind him to the empty space on his chair. He made the mistake of making eye contact with her, which meant there wasn’t a change he’d be able to say no. The puppy eyes were dire enough, but he knew with complete certainty that she would make it her life’s mission to bother him until he did as she wished. She wasn’t used to being told no, and he’d blamed Mel for that. Still, he could see why. Though he liked to play hardball, Josh was pretty sure there was very little he’d deny those puppy dog eyes.

Cher grabbed his hand and tugged him to the Jeep, not releasing him until she needed to open the car door. Driving with Cher was absolutely terrifying, and he’d certainly wished he’d been strong enough to say no. Still, he did kind of feel bad for her. Mel would never have the time to teach her, and she was really trying. Though he was scared for his life, he was kind of having fun. Time was flying.

“Look, I gotta get back to school. Do you want to practice parking?”

“What’s the point? Everywhere you go has valet.” 

Josh was truly perplexed. Cher was from a whole different planet!

“So, what class are you going to?” she asked casually. She seldom made her business to know what Josh was up to.

“Actually I’m going to a tree people meeting,” he leaned in as if he had a big secret to tell her, “We might get Marky Mark to plant a celebrity tree.”

“How fabulous” Cher teased, “Getting Marky Mark to take time out of his busy pants-dropping schedule to plant trees? Josh, why don’t you just hire a gardener?”

He thought his eyes would roll out of his head. Though her naivety was endearing sometimes, it was still always shocking. It was endearing to hear all of her “humanitarian efforts” she had planned, like breaking for animals and setting up her teachers. He could understand why a high school boy would find it part of her girlish charms, though he much preferred her zingy burns and one liners. They had a more mature banter going on as they’d grown up, and he really did like it. She was funnier than he figured the boys at school paid attention to, but her selfishness still irked him.

Cher drove back to her house and Josh immediately went to his car to head back to campus, shouting a teasing goodbye as he shut the door. He headed to his meeting, and smiled as he saw Heather approach. The upperclassmen discussed upcoming business, meetings, and the strategy for Marky Mark, though Josh had trouble focusing. He was in his own head, wondering if he’d maybe been a little bit too harsh in his teasing of Cher. He was right, but he hoped he hadn’t hurt feelings. He considered giving her a call, but that didn’t seem like their relationship at all. That would make it more weird. He thought he was overreacting, and was pulled out of his reverie as Heather grabbed his hand. 

After the meeting, they walked hand in hand towards Josh’s apartment. She ran her hand against his stubbly chin, “I like this.”

“Really? You do?”

“Yeah, it makes you look very mature.”

He ran his own hand over his scruff, “Mel’s daughter thinks it looks like pubic hair.” He stifled a laugh. It was a good shot at him.

“Mel’s daughter is a child, so she has the taste of a child.” Heather rolled her eyes condescendingly.

“Yeah.” Josh nodded, trying to hide his guttural reaction to insulting Cher. Heather hadn’t even met her, and that was unnecessary. Cher was nearly 17, and Josh was freshly 18. She certainly wasn’t a child, or at least, Josh didn’t see her that way. 

Either way, Heather certainly wasn’t a child. And she was gorgeous. And she was right in front of him, pulling him onto his bed, her hands wandering up his shirt. All else was forgotten for the moment.

But only for that moment, because as soon as he woke up, Josh found himself shaving off that uneven goatee.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Josh went back to Mel’s house to steal some food. He peered into the den and listened to Cher and another girl kneeling on the floor. Cher was giving the girl, who Josh was unfamiliar with, a lecture about her vocabulary and discussing books they were going to be reading outside of school. Josh couldn’t help but smile at their cute, girly choices. They were so very Cher, and so very endearing. 

“Hey, brainiac!” Josh called out, interrupting their powwow. 

“Ugh, the dreaded ex. Tai, this is Josh.”

“Nice to meet ya.” he smiled, thoroughly amused.

“Hey!” Cher exclaimed, “You know about this stuff!”

She chased him into the dining room, “I want to do something good for humanity.”

“How about sterilization?” he teased, feeling proud of himself. Tai started to laugh, which reinforced his thinking that his jokes were pretty good today. He gave her an appreciative smile before darting off into the kitchen, Cher still on his tail.

“So what do you think?” she smiled brightly, looking up into his eyes. She was clearly quite proud of herself.

“I’m amazed.” he said, opening the door of the refrigerator and rummaging through it.

“That I’m devoting myself so generously to someone else?”

“No, that you found someone even more clueless than you are to worship you.” He turned to the kitchen counter now to assemble his sandwich, though Cher followed his every movement.

“I am saving her from teenage hell. Do you know the wounds of adolescence could take years to heal?”  
“Yeah, and you never had a mother so you are acting out on that girl like she was your Barbie doll.”   
“Ugh, freshman psych rears its ugly head.”

“Hey! I am not taking psych.” Josh wagged the turkey in her face.

“Well I am going to take that lost soul in there and make her well-dressed and popular. Her life will be better because of me. How many girls can say that about you?”  
“Be seeing ya.”

“Yeah, I hope not sporadically.” Josh smiled politely before heading back out, sandwich in hand.

After scarfing down his free meal, he headed back to campus.

After his full day of Friday classes the next day, Josh went back to his room and tried to relax. His roommate was gone for the weekend, as he often was visiting his girlfriend who was a student at another school. He laid back in his bed and reached for the remote. He flipped through a dozen channels before landing on cartoons. His finger hovered over the remote control buttons, but he waited a moment and watched. Before long he was actively laughing at the silly yet entertaining show on the screen, and had no intention of turning it off. He was able to shut his brain off for a while and just enjoy the childish show full of silly jokes and bright colors. It was quite relaxing for him, and almost therapeutic. He could understand why Cher enjoyed these so much. His stress, and really all other thoughts, had faded away.

After a few hours of watching TV, Josh was startled by the sound of his phone ringing. He grabbed it quickly, “Hello?”

“Hi handsome, what are you up to?”

Josh couldn’t help but smile, “Hey, Heather. Nothing, what are you up to?”

“Oh, I just finished up my spoken word at open mic night. I thought you were going to swing by?”

Josh frantically looked at his watch. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been plastered in front of the TV.

“Ah, I’m sorry Heather. I’ve been, uh, studying. I lost track of time.” He tried. He didn’t sound too convincing, but Heather didn’t seem to notice.

“No worries, I can perform it for you later. Can I come over?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, great. I’ll be over in a few.”

Josh ran around his room frantically, trying to hide any trace of things he knew Heather wouldn’t like. He tried to cover his fast food bags with more trash so she wouldn’t know he’d been eating meat. He grabbed his Madonna tape from his stereo and replaced it with a jazz tape he listened to when he studied. He tidied up his bed and changed the channel to the local news before running to the bathroom to brush his teeth and freshen up.

When Heather arrived she greeted him with a sweet kiss before settling down on his bed. Josh moved in beside her and threw his arm around her shoulders. She gently touched his chin, where there was no longer stubble, and looked at him expectantly. He gave her an innocent shrug, but she didn’t say anything about it. 

“How was the open mic night?”

Heather told him a detailed account of the night, and he was sorry he missed it. She was a really talented writer, and even though listening to her performances were an acquired taste he could recognize that she was at least very passionate. He liked that about her. He’d compare it to the way Cher felt about shoes.

To fill the mildly awkward silence that followed her account of the night, Josh started asking about their class together and their upcoming assignment. Heather found another topic to muse about, so she talked Josh’s ear off for another few minutes. Slowly, Josh started to lean towards her. He’d nod at her points and rub his thumb sweetly over her shoulder. He tried as hard as he could to get them to a light and flirty conversation, but Heather was clearly deeply invested in this one.

Once she finished her rant, Josh gazed into her eyes and smiled, “You’re hot when you’re fired up.” 

“Fired up? Oh Josh, you haven’t seen me fired up.” She grabbed his chin with her pointer finger and dragged him to her lips. His hands roamed down her sides, and hers found sanctuary around his neck. Eager and full of teenage hormones, he quickly went to start unbutton her flannel shirt.

“Take it easy, tiger. All in good time” she breathed, blowing gently on his lips.

“Come on” he teased, moving his hands back to her sides.

Suddenly, Josh’s phone rang again. Who could be calling him this late?

“Hello?” he groaned.

“Josh, you busy?” He’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“Who is it?” Heather hissed impatiently.

“It’s Mel’s daughter.” He sighed. He shared her feeling of exasperation. Heather rolled eyes and collapsed back down into the pillow.

“So okay, I was at this party and my designated driver tried to attack me, so I got out so he’d stop, but then he drove off---” 

Oh shit. Josh nodded as if she could see, accepting that this call was absolutely worth taking. 

“And deserted me, and then this guy with a gun held me up, took my money and my phone and he yelled at me, and he forced me to ruin my dress!”

Josh’s face and voice both softened. He felt bad for her. That must’ve been really terrifying.

“Okay, okay” he cooed, “Hey, look, um. Where are you?”

She paused for a moment, “Sun Valley.”

“Pst. Man, you owe me.” he said before hanging up the phone. He stood up immediately and started searching the room for his keys.

“What the hell?” Heather whined.

“She got stranded at a party and robbed, I guess. I have to go get her.”

“What? Why don’t you just call Mel?” Heather pressed.

“I can’t call Mel, Heather. She’s freaking out. I have to go get her. You can come with me.”

“Why do you have to go get her? You’re not her babysitter. Just call her dad.” Heather insisted.

Josh was getting a little frustrated at this point. “Heather, she’s stranded in the middle of nowhere and she’s terrified. I need to go get her and make sure she’s okay.” He said sternly. He grabbed his keys and opened the door, “I can take you home on the way back. Come on.” Begrudgingly, Heather got up and followed him to his car.

She was silent for most of the drive to Cher. Normally he’d be worried about that, but his mind was exclusively on Cher. Driver attacked her? And left her there? And she was robbed at gunpoint? Holy shit, the poor girl. That was all so scary.

His thoughts were pulled away by Heather’s huffing and puffing. She was clearly quite angry, and in quintessential girl fashion was not going to say anything about it. Funny, that was the sort of “childish” behavior she’d condemn of Cher, whom she still hadn’t even met. To break the tension, Josh decided to restrike up their conversation about the professor whom she loathed. That would keep her talking, and hopefully distract him from his creeping panic.

When he finally arrived at the gas station, he saw Cher cowering by the street lamp. He let out a breath of relief, thankful that she was alright. He hopped out of the car and called out to her, “Hey, bozo. You alright?” Cher let out a high pitched squeal and darted into his chest, throwing her arms around him. Surprised, he hugged her back and soothingly pet her hair. “You’re okay, don’t worry.” he whispered, letting himself enjoy the feeling of her body pressed up against his. Though it was probably wrong to in this moment, he couldn’t help but notice how stunning she looked in her party dress. It held onto every curve divinely, and the thing fabric let him feel all of her soft curves pressed tightly against his chest. She seldom wore her hair like that, and he was marveled by it. He gave her one more tight squeeze before guiding her to the car. He was acutely aware of the heat of Heather’s glare.


	4. Chapter 4

Once Cher was settled into the car, Josh introduced her to Heather. Cher waved politely, though Heather didn’t return the gesture. She didn’t even turn around and face her. Admittedly, Josh was a little bit annoyed at how cold she was being. It was very clear that Cher was very shaken up, and Heather’s rudeness certainly wasn’t going to help. He understood her frustration, sure. They were in the middle of something and Cher had interrupted. Still, it was an emergency! Josh really didn’t understand what Heather’s problem was, and he certainly didn’t want to find out.

He drove in silence for a few minutes, looking at his rear mirror every few seconds to check on Cher. She stared out the window and wrapped herself in her own arms. Josh was starting to wish he had invited Heather to tag along. If they were alone Cher would probably be much more comfortable talking about whatever the hell had happened to her. She would also be in the passenger seat, so Josh would be able to squeeze her hand or rub her leg or do something at least mildly comforting. He knew she wouldn’t want to open up like this, so he decided to distract Heather instead.

He let Heather chatter on and did his best to pay attention as much as possible. Eventually Cher seemed less scared and more annoyed, which was a good sign for her recovery. He knew she’d be fine when she cut into the conversation and corrected Heather. Heather looked at Josh, waiting for him to join her in her mockery of Cher, but Josh couldn’t even pretend to hide his smile. He looked back at Cher and chuckled, though abruptly stopped when he caught Heather’s icy glare. Even with his most restraint, he couldn’t drop his smile.

He knew he was in real hot water when they arrived to Heather’s house and she stormed out the car. Josh sighed, “I’m going to walk Heather to her door. Try to stay out of trouble.” He ran out the car and chased after her.

“Heather!” he called out, but she continued with haste.

“Heather,” he said softly as he finally approached her, “Hey.”

He grabbed her for a long kiss before pulling away and promising, “I’ll make it up to you. I’m sorry.” She was clearly still furious, and to be honest Josh wasn’t exactly thrilled with her either. She was acting like a petulant child. Still, he had no intention of leaving Cher in the car alone so he could fight with his girlfriend over nothing.

He climbed back into the car and turned to Cher, “You’re not going to sit up here?”

“No.”

“I look like I’m your chauffeur. Which, I might have to be if you don’t start practicing your parking.” He joked. Cher didn’t answer, but she did begrudgingly get out of the car and move to his passenger side seat. He started the car and pulled out of Heather’s drive way before speaking again.

“Cher, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked, being as gentle as possible.

Cher let out a big sigh. “So Dionne called me and told me that the whole crew was going to this party in the Valley, and like, I wasn’t planning on going because they always get busted, but we had to go because Elton was going to be there and we need Tai to--”

“Cher,” Josh interrupted, “What happened that led you to be abandoned at a sketchy gas station in the middle of the night?”

“Elton said he’d drive me home, but then he kissed me and he wouldn’t stop!”

Josh’s blood was boiling. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing! He wasn’t usually an angry guy, but this Elton kid was going to get his ass kicked.

“So you got out the car? And he just left?” Josh hissed, squeezing the steering wheel. Cher simply nodded. He didn’t want to get her all riled up again so he didn’t even bother asking about the armed robbery.  
“God, Cher. I’m so sorry. Are you sure you’re alright?” 

She nodded again, but tears started to form. Instinctively, Josh reached for her hand and it gave it a tight squeeze. He wondered if she too felt the electric she did the moment they made contact. She finally looked up at him and gave him one of her signature half smiles. He released her hand and muttered, “But if I see this Elton fella, I’m going to knock his teeth in.” Cher smiled again and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. Again, he couldn’t resist his smile or the butterflies fluttering all around in his stomach.


	5. Chapter 5

Josh spent the entirety of the next morning getting chewed out by Heather over the phone. She was angry that he didn’t defend her from Cher, angry that he went to go get her, and angry that he seemed to always be at her beck and call. He tried to explain that he wasn’t at her beck and call, but he was at Mel’s. He insisted that dealing with Cher was just a part of the deal, but neither of them was buying that. She made multiple comments about Cher’s immaturity, and Josh’s own for tolerating it. She told him that he was far too mature to be involved in Cher’s child-like antics, which confused Josh a lot. Was liking Mel Gibson childish? It was like Cher had severely wounded Heather’s ego, but that couldn’t have just been about Hamlet. What was her damage? As she continued to complain about Cher’s attitude, Josh had to bite his tongue. She hardly knew Cher, and she was the one who was obscenely rude and inconsiderate of the fact that Cher had literally been robbed at gunpoint! Still, he knew there was no point in arguing. He let her continue her passionate speech for far too long, apologized, and moved on.

More than ever, Josh found himself drawn to spending time at Mel’s. He fought off the temptation for a couple of weeks, and then went back home to Seattle for winter break. He spent the holidays with his mother and his truly evil stepdad, so he spent much of his days talking on the phone with Heather. Well, he spent most of his days on the phone listening to Heather talk. Even after the holidays when he was back in LA, he fought the urge to visit Cher, er, to visit Mel. This was at short last, because when Mel called him and asked him to help with a big time-sensitive case, he of course came over to assist. He was truly at Mel’s back and call.   
After spending just about an hour going through depositions, the door bell rang. Mel, the clerks, and himself were far too invested in the depositions to care.

“Daddy!” he heard Cher whine, “I can’t just open it! I have to make him wait a while!”

“Then he can wait outside!” Mel cried.

“Josh, pleeeease! Come on, Joooosh!” she continued to wail. Feeling defeated, and knowing her well enough to know she wasn’t going to stop any time soon, Josh went to the door. Maybe Heather has a point. Maybe I am at her beck and call he thought to himself.

He opened the door and saw a shorter, well-dressed highschooler, and Josh could already tell the guy was a tool. He was stylish, almost too stylish, and didn’t say a word to Josh as he stepped in the door. He couldn’t believe this was the kind of guy Cher was interested in. 

“What’d ya hear?” the kid said.

Annoyed, Josh plucked the kid’s hat off his head and shoved it into his chest. Josh wasn’t cotillion trained or anything, but he had some class. He knew better than to be so disrespectful in someone else’s home, especially Mel’s.

“She’s not ready yet” he grumbled, hobbling back to the office.

There was a nasty feeling that consumed his entire body. It was like anger, but much, much worse. He was feeling protective of Mel, and of course protective of Cher. That was normal. Still, it was more than that. He couldn’t put his finger on it.

He felt a little better listening to Mel rip the kid a new one, but that was soon cut off by Cher making her grand entrance. She glided down the stairs with grace, and Josh was pretty sure his jaw actually dropped. His breath caught and his heart started to flutter. He was gawking. She looked exactly what Josh imagined angels in heaven looked like. He had absolutely never seen anyone so beautiful. It was overwhelming.

It was almost as overwhelming as the icky feeling in his heart when he heard her say “Christian” and give him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Dollface!” he chimed, kissing her cheeks in response. Josh tried his best to look away from that, but with little success.

“Stunning!” the kid said, giving Cher a quick spin. Josh felt sick.

Josh cleared his throat and turned to Mel, “You’re not letting her go out like that, are you?” That caused Mel to look at the pair, and he agreed with Josh for sure. Though it was revealing, Josh was thankful for whoever this Calvin Klein was that created that little piece of white fabric that clung tightly to Cher’s perfect body.

He watched as the pair headed out the door arm-in-arm, and that icky feeling intensified. That kid was such a little tool, and very clearly not someone who was even remotely worth Cher’s time. He knew this was going to be something that bothered him all night. He looked back down at the papers in front of him, but knew he wasn’t getting a second more of work done tonight.

Josh stared at the door and stated, “I didn’t like him.”

“What’s to like?” Mel said, not bothering to look up from his papers. Josh getting less sad and more worked up. How could Mel let Cher go out with that jerk? How was he not the one freaking out? Maybe Josh was too overprotective, but how could Mel not care at all?

“Maybe I should go to the party” Josh proposed.

“If you feel like you should go, then go.”

“You don’t need me, do ya?”

“No, no, no” Mel started.

Josh cut him off, “Unless you want, I mean if you want--”

“Josh, go to the party. Go, go, go, go, go, go.” Mel asserted. Seeing that he was bothering him, Josh lept out of his seat and headed for the door.

“I’ll watch her for ya.”

“You do that.” Mel teased. Josh wasn’t sure what that was about. 

Josh got into the car and sped to the party. It wasn’t like him to be a reckless driver, but he was on a mission. Maybe he could finally pinpoint what he was feeling. He wasn’t being protective. He was jealous.


	6. Chapter 6

That wasn’t a revelation Josh loved at all. Why he was jealous of his kid ex-stepsister’s date? That was absurd. He really didn’t want to unpack what that meant. She was beautiful, tonight especially. It must’ve clouded his vision. This was Cher he was talking about, Mel’s bratty little daughter. 

Once he got to the party he grabbed the bouncer to make sure the bar was checking IDs. The last thing he wanted to do was have to return a drunk Cher to Mel tonight. He scanned the crowd until he found that signature blonde hair and itty bitty white dress. As soon as he spotted her, she spotted him as well. He smiled and waved, elated to see that she was standing with Tai and not that Christian guy. She waved and gave him a goofy smile back, eliciting a small chuckle from him. He was so glad he came.  
The next time he let himself turn around she was back on the dance floor with Christian. Standing in their place was a lone Tai, smiling and bopping to the music. He felt that icky feeling again, but he figured Tai must’ve been feeling pretty icky as well. He felt bad for her. She was a a sweet kid. He watched some more as her smile faded into a deep frown, and his conscience couldn’t take it. He made his way through the crowd and awkwardly approached. 

“Hi,” he smiled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Were you, uh, born to move?” he offered her his hand.

She took it enthusiastically, and he immediately remembered why he didn’t dance. He was awful! She still seemed to be enjoying herself, and he guessed that was all that really mattered. He looked over at Cher, something he couldn’t really stop doing all night, and she smiled brightly and waved at him. She seemed to appreciate his good deed. He let himself have one last look at her, and he wouldn’t regret it. She was seductively moving her hips, putting on quite the show for any guy smart enough to watch. Christian, however, was paying her no mind. He was fixated on an equally handsome guy beside him. It all clicked, and that icky feeling in Josh totally washed away. This wasn’t a date. Christian was gay!

This was confirmed for Josh as several hours later Christian was the last one on the dance floor. Cher and Tai were resting on an industrial box, and even Josh in all of his college partygoer wisdom was pretty beat. He still didn’t feel right leaving them alone.

“How are you guys holding up?” he questioned.

“Ugh, I am so ready to leave.” Cher groaned.

“I’m tired.” Tai could barely make the words out.

Cher called for Christian, but he was clearly not done partying. Now that his jealousy had dissolved, he didn’t mind offering to take the girls home so that Christian could keep up the party. He gave him full props for denying Josh’s initial offer, but Josh would much rather ensure Cher got home at a reasonableish time so Mel didn’t ring his neck. 

Cher held up Tai’s lifeless body and placed her in the car. Josh had to get her awake to give him direction to her house, but once she was up she still needed to be carried to her door. Once they pulled away, Cher spoke.

“That was really decent of you to dance with Tai tonight.”

Josh blushed, surprised by the compliment. “My pleasure.”

“Did you notice any changes in her?”

“Yeah, under your tootillage she’s exploring the challenging world of bare midruffs.” Cher was too busy looking through his tapes to respond.

“So you didn’t want to make a night of it with the ring-a-ding kid?” 

Cher raised her eyebrows, “Yeah, daddy wouldn’t go too ballistic. It’s not like he’s going to sleep or anything.”

“No, not if he’s going to finish those depos.”

Cher lit up, “You know what would be so dope? If we brought them some really delicious takeout. I bet they haven’t eaten all night.”

“Yeah, I guess that would be pretty dope of us. Let’s do it.” He smiled brightly, unable to contain it. Cher’s exterior was definitely vain, but his heart always fluttered when she showed these secret moments of compassion and selflessness. They stopped by a restaurant Cher knew her father liked and grabbed just about everything on the menu. Wanting to contribute himself, Josh wished Cher a good night and joined the team in digging through the paperwork.


	7. Chapter 7

After that, Josh couldn’t deny that he had some pretty strong feelings for Cher. Pretty much any night he could afford to he spent at the Horowitz house. He’d done a pretty good job helping Mel with the last case, so Mel had welcomed all the additional help he offered. Oftentimes Mel wasn’t there, but Josh found some excuse to come by anyway. Eventually, Cher stopped asking what he was doing there and just curled up on the couch with him, stealing his snacks and invading his personal space. He didn’t mind.

Heather, on the other hand, had not so easily accepted Josh’s absence. Josh tried to convince her again that all of this was about helping out Mel and furthering his career, something that Heather valued, but half way through he realized this wasn’t an argument worth having. It was very clear to them both that Josh just wasn’t into this anymore and there was no point in hiding it. When Heather flat out asked him if he was into Cher, he didn’t deny it. He let her tell him off about how much of a jerk he was, which he couldn’t deny either. He also let her yell at him for needing to “grow up,” but that’s where she lost him. Heather was always pushing him to be something he wasn’t. He always had to be serious, always had to be doing something enriching. She wasn’t wrong for that, but he wished he could be more of himself around her like he could Cher. 

He and Cher could veg out on the couch and joke around. They could just be themselves and relax. He could hang out with her little friends and genuinely enjoy it. They didn’t always have to take life so seriously. He liked the college parties and the coffee house nights, sure. To be honest, Josh much preferred the nights where he was sitting so close to Cher she was practically on his lap, dipping into a big bowl of Cheetos, watching cartoons, and teasing her about her vanity. Cher seemed to enjoy them as well, so he stopped hiding it. He never considered the fact that she’d view him as anything but a brother-figure, so when she insisted that he was in fact not her brother and should totally spend spring break partying with her, he was overjoyed. He honestly couldn’t think of a better way to spend that break. Two weeks of seeing her in her tiny little party dresses, just inches away from cuddling on the couch, and actually being able to relax before finals week sounded like a dream.

When Josh was back at the Horowitz house a few weeks later, he encountered a very frantic Cher begging the maid to help her find one of her blouses. Oh right, it was the day of Cher’s driving test. She had been nervous about it forever, and although Josh helped her practice and she’d improved a lot, it was definitely a toss up whether or not she’d pass. 

“Come on Lucy, you know I don’t speak Mexican.” Cher whined.

“I am not a Mexican!” Lucy snapped, throwing down her sponge on the counter. 

Cher turned to Josh, more stressed than he’d ever seen her, “What was that all about?”

“Lucy is from El Selvador.” Josh explained, trying to be gentle. 

“So?”

“It’s an entirely different country!”

“What does that matter?”

“You get upset if someone thinks you live below Sunset.”

“Oh, okay! So everything is all my fault! I’m always wrong, right?” she huffed and stomped out of the kitchen.

“Ugh, you’re such a brat.” Josh said as she left. She was in a destructive mood, and he figured it was clear to stay out of it. She really was being a brat, though. Maybe telling her was a little bit harsh, as she was clearly already upset, but it wasn’t a lie. Even so, she was still really adorable when she was in a tissy like that. He hoped she’d feel better after passing her test.

He waited by the pool for her until Tai stopped by. She was carrying a decked out shoe box and sporting an ensemble right out of Cher’s closet. He could laugh. She looked like a clone.

“Hey, Tai. What’s up?” 

“Hi, Josh!” Tai said cheerfully. She was nice.

“Looking for Cher?”

“Er, yeah. Is she here?”

“Oh, no. She’s taking her driving test. But she’ll be back soon. You’re welcome to wait.”

“Thanks!” She smiled, “What’s that?”

Josh had his hackysack in hand and tossed it to her.

“Hackysack! Know how to play?”

“No, uh, not really.”

“I’ll show ya! Everyone plays with them on campus.”

The pair spent a few minutes playing with it, though Tai never really got the hang of it. 

He was explaining how to use her legs when he heard the door to the house open up. He and Tai both turned out, anticipating an ecstatic Cher. 

“Hey! You’re home!” Tai cheered.

“Hey! How does it feel to have a license?” Josh said, probably a little bit too enthusiastically. 

“I wouldn’t know. I failed.” Cher moped.

“Oh.” Josh wished he would’ve come up with a more comforting response. He didn’t want to baby her.

“Bummer.” Tai added emphatically. 

Cher was immediately on the offense. “And Josh, spare me your lecture on how driving is such a big responsibility and you can’t BS your way through it, okay?”

“I didn’t say anything.” Josh responded carefully. She was a ticking timebomb.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

Tai grabbed her decorated shoebox and walked inside with Cher, and Josh found it best to not respond. He tossed the sack back and forth in his hands, cursing himself for being so rude earlier. He really did feel bad for her. He remembered how excited he was when he got his license, and Cher was ten times as excited as anyone about everything. He hadn’t realized he’d been so hard on her. He watched Cher and Tai go back into the house and frowned. He figured that was a good time to head back to campus.

He stayed away for another day, but couldn’t help but come back the day after. Pathetically, he really hated being away from Cher. That only heightened when he was afraid that she was upset with him, and more than just their usual bickering way. When Cher got home from school he was already planted on the couch watching CNN with his hands in a box of cereal. He greeted Cher, and she plopped down next to him silently. She sat about as far away from him as the couch allowed, which was very out of character for her. She didn’t seem to be angry with him, as she never had an issue letting that be known, but there was obviously something wrong. He offered her some cereal, but she shook her head.

“What’s with you?” he asked, trying to keep it light.

“What do you mean?” Cher asked defensively.

“You’re so quiet. You haven’t made me watch the Real World.”

“I care about the news.”

“Since when?” he teased.

“Since now!”

“You look confused.”

“Well uh, I thought they declared peace in the Middle East.” Cher murmured, nervously fidgeting. Josh had to smirk. God, she was so fucking cute sometimes. He thought about beginning to explain why that broad statement wasn’t really ever going to make sense, or maybe just telling her that Bosnia wasn’t in the Middle East, but decided it was better to let it go. He thought it was sweet how hyper focused she was. She wanted to learn. In fact, he noticed some really change in her all week. While he was working with Mel one night Cher spent hours clearing out her closet and the kitchen cabinets to find things to give to charity. She had a lot of stuff, so it wasn’t too difficult, but she was donating things he’d seen her wear or use recently. She was actually giving stuffing up. It was sweet. Mel blamed it on his influence, but he shrugged. Maybe, but it seemed like this was pure Cher-- The Cher that Josh had recently realized he was head over heels for.


	8. Chapter 8

Later that week, Mel asked Josh to come by again and help one of his associates with a case, and Cher had offered to help too. She was back to sitting close to him, and she seemed to be in much better spirits. Josh decided to test the waters. He flirtatiously kicked her feet under the table, and she responded in kind. He took his pen and flipped her pigtail, “You look like Pippy Longstocking.”

Cher grimaced at him and pulled out her hairtie, “You look like Forrest Gump! Who is Pippy Longstocking?”

The associate didn’t answer, so Josh did. “Uh, not someone Mel Gibson every played.”

“Funny” Cher hummed, running her hands through her hair. She closed her eyes and fingercombed her hair to the side, giving Josh a gorgeous view of her perfect face, neck, and collarbone. Oh what Josh would’ve given to be able to press his lips on the soft, sensitive skin of her neck, her jaw, her perfectly full and inviting lips…

He needed to snap out of it.

“What happened the August 28th files?”

“Hm, what?” Josh was pulled back into reality. 

“Mel wanted them tonight. There were twice as many. He’s going to go ballistic! Where are they?” The associate panicked. 

Cher spoke up nervously, “I think I checked them for the September 3rd conversation.”

“You what?”

Josh started to panic, too. “Where did you put them?”

“I divided them up into two piles. Is that wrong?” Cher shrugged. Josh put his fingers to the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He knew it was a simple mistake and it really wasn’t her fault, but he wasn’t looking forward to redoing those.

“Oh my God! Now I have to redo all that! What are you, some kind of idiot?” the associate snapped.

“Hey! She didn’t know.” Josh mused, trying to deescalate. 

“She just sent us back a day!” the associate kept yelling, “Who cares about the September call? Now we’re screwed!” 

“I’m sorry.” Cher choked out. Josh immediately turned to see her face. Tears were welling in her eyes. His heart hurt for her, she clearly felt really, really bad. 

“Just forget it, okay! Just go back to the mall or something.” the associate snapped, snatching the papers away from her. As tears started to spill over, Cher ran out of the office and up the stairs.

Josh wanted to go comfort her, but first he wanted to lay into this jerk of a lawyer. “What’s your problem, man? She didn’t mean any harm.”

“I’m going to get killed because she’s a moron!”

Now Josh was officially livid. “She’s not a moron! And you know what? If you were paying attention to your assignment it wouldn’t have happened!” 

He started to get up and pack his briefcase. “Well if you weren’t busy playing footsie with the dumb kid she wouldn’t be bothering.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Josh yelled, following the jerk to the front door. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Josh! This is a multimillion dollar lawsuit, not some excuse for puppy love!”

“We’ve been working our butts off on this case!”

“Well I’ll tell you what-- you can do what you want with your butts, I’m calling in sick!” he growled, slamming the door on his way out. 

Josh was fuming, but he immediately calmed when he saw Cher’s heartbroken face. Everything else but the urge to comfort her faded away.

“Did I really ruin Daddy’s lawsuit?” she sniffled.

“No.” Josh smirked. He climbed up the steps and sat next to her, “Of course not.”

“Well did I set him back? I mean, there’s so much work to be done. He can’t afford to lose that time.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.” Josh cooed, leaning towards her for emphasis, “Your father won’t lose any time.” 

She leaned into him back, and he let himself place a gentle hand on her thigh. “Can you imagine the nerve of that guy? I mean, making you worry like that! He’s the one who screwed up. And then he goes and blames us--- uh, imagine saying we were, uh, I don’t know.”

“That’s right. You’ve been very dedicated to this case” Cher said sincerely. Josh’s heart was pounding. 

“Yeah, well, it’s a good learning experience, at least for me. I want to be a lawyer. You-- I mean, you don’t need to be doing this. Go out and have fun, go shopping.”

Cher’s face dropped again. “You think that’s all I do? I’m just a ditz with a credit card?”

“No!” Josh protested, “No, uh, that’s not what I meant.”

He needed a second to collect his thoughts. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on right now, but it had him all shaken up. He was thoroughly freaking out, and he had no control over the words leaving his lips.

“You’re young, and beautiful, and, and” he stammered.

Cher smiled slightly. “And?”

“And… well. What?” Josh questioned.

“You think I’m beautiful?” Cher pressed. 

Josh tried to play cool, but it was too late. There was no point in denying it, “You know you’re gorgeous, alright? And you’re popular, and uh…” He trailed off. This was not at all how he planned on confessing his feelings for Cher. Actually, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever planned on doing this. All he knew was that in this moment, something was different between him. There was a spark, and he was sure he couldn’t be the only one to feel it. Still, he was paralyzingly afraid. He really didn’t know what he’d do if he was wrong, and this was completely unrequited. Not only would he be devastated, he could probably never show his face around Mel ever again.

“But that’s not why I come here! You know, this is a great learning experience for me.” He insisted, trying his best to play it cool.

“You already said that” Cher sighed, smiling brightly as she looked into his eyes.

“And Mel. I want to help out Mel. He’s the only one who cares about me.” 

“That’s not true.”

“He’s not?” Josh questioned. Cher shook her head, “No.”

“Are you saying you care about me?” Josh asked cautiously, looking her up and down. Hell, she really was beautiful. It was extremely distracting.

“Josh,” Cher laughed, and reached to playfully shove his shoulder.

Throwing caution into the wind, he intercepted her hand and kissed her deeply. He hoped that would come off much more clear than anything he was able to say right now. She didn’t respond at all, and Josh was panicked. He pulled away quickly, keeping her face in his hands. He stared into his eyes and tried to read her expression. She didn’t seem disgusted like he had feared, she just looked shocked. To be fair, he was too. 

After a long moment, Cher’s shock turned into a wide grin. Josh let out of a breath alive and hesitantly leaned for her again. When she didn’t pull away, he pulled her back in for a passionate kiss. Her hands went right to his cheeks, and his to her lower back, pulling her in closer. Her lips were as soft as he’d always imagined, and whatever she had on her lips tasted amazing. He could’ve died right then and been completely content.


End file.
